Crunchy asparagus and tender mushrooms, sautéed with onions and garlic, and tossed together with fresh herbs and thin shavings of creamy asiago cheese. This Summer Asparagus, Mushroom and Onion Salad is a fresh, healthy favorite, that makes the perfect side dish for any occasion. No need to worry about keeping it cool or heating it up, this summer salad is made to serve at room temperature.

It has been another great week around here. I can’t believe Charlie was 6 weeks old on Friday! What an amazing time we’ve been having with him. He has even been starting to sleep a bit more at night! YAY! (Maybe the extra sleep has something to do with all of our adventures this week.) In addition to our normal day to day activities, this week also included a huge trip to Target on Tuesday, my 6 week post-baby doctors appointment and our weekly lunch with Andrew on Wednesday, a super fun date night out on Friday, a trip to Greenfield Village on Saturday (followed later with a date night in…which leads us to this recipe), and a relaxing and productive Sunday. Busy, but fun. 🙂 Here are a few pictures from our trip to Greenfield Village.Now, let’s talk about one of our favorite new creations, this Summer Asparagus, Mushroom and Onion Salad. The other day at Costco I picked up a huge bag of beautiful, fresh asparagus, and a big carton of mushrooms. They looked delicious and I figured they would be great if I (simply) roasted them in the oven and served them with the steaks that Andrew was going to grill this weekend. Well, somehow my idea to “keep it simple” quickly flew out the window and my wheels were turning. I was thinking how much we LOVE these Oven Roasted Portobello Mushrooms, especially as a side dish with steaks. But since I also had a huge bag of asparagus, and really wanted onions with our steaks as well, the chef in me was eager and determined to create a dish that incorporated all of my visions. 😉 So, I searched for some imagesthat would help to inspire me. (Sometimes I get my inspirations from the recipe itself, and other times I just need a picture to point me in the right direction. In this case, the pictures were all that I needed.)

Coat a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray, and heat over high heat. Add onions and garlic and sautee on high for 1 minute without stirring, then cook for another minute, stirring. Add the asparagus and mushrooms and cook for 3-4 more minutes, stirring occasionally, allowing veggies to brown slightly, but do not over cook. (Asparagus and mushrooms should be just cooked slightly, and still have a little crunch to them.) Move veggies to a large serving bowl, and allow to cool until slightly warm, but not hot. Toss with cheese, fresh herbs, oil and salt and pepper to taste. Cover loosely with foil and let rest together for at least 5 minutes, or until ready to serve. Serve salad at room temperature with additional cheese on top, if desired.

Lightly sautéed chicken breasts, in a lemon-butter sauce with capers and parsley. Served over a lovely side of perfectly cooked pasta. Chicken piccata used to be a dish that I overlooked, and clearly did not appreciate enough. Who knew that boring chicken breasts could be transformed into something so wonderful?

I just made this recipe for Andrew and I on one of the coldest nights that Michigan has seen in a LONG time! I loved creating this restaurant-quality, date-night dinner for us on a Monday night.

When I started brainstorming this recipe, I remember asking Andrew if he liked chicken piccata. His underwhelming response was, “Um, I guess”. Not exactly what I wanted to hear from a big part of my audience, but I decided to go through with it anyway, in case he was mistaken on his likes. Well, let me just be the one to say that after taking his very first bite of this dish, his new answer was, “YES! I LOVE chicken piccata!” You can’t blame the guy for being honest. That’s definitely one of the things I love about him. 🙂

And speaking of Andrew, we have a little news for you. We’re expecting another baby in June!!! Yep, baby #3 is on the way! We have been so excited ever since we found out in late September, and now we are equally excited that we get to share our news with you! We just went to the doctor today for our big ultrasound. They checked the baby and everything looks great so far! We even found out the baby’s gender.

Drum-role please…..

Baby number three is a……

BOY!

That will make THREE boys for our little family! We couldn’t be happier!

Lay chicken breasts flat on cutting board, and slice in half to create thin cutlets. Pat dry with paper towel and season both sides with salt and pepper.

Spread the flour in a shallow dish. Then dredge cutlets in flour to coat, shaking off any excess.

In a large non-stick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil until shimmering. Add four of the cutlets and cook for about 5-7 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and lightly cover with foil. Repeat with the remaining oil and cutlets.

Using the same skillet, and the brown bits and oil that remain, add the garlic and shallot to the pan and cook over medium heat until softened, about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the broth and sherry and simmer for about 8 minutes, until broth has thickened a bit.

Stir in the lemon juice, capers, and any chicken juice from the plate. Turning the heat to low, whisk in the butter, one third at a time. Remove pan from heat and stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

When ready to serve, spoon the sauce over the chicken. Serve with pasta, especially fettuccine or thin spaghetti.

Healthy, delicious. HEALTHY. Mouthwatering. These oven roasted portobello mushrooms are not only tender and flavorful, but are also incredibly good for you! Slices of garlic, fresh parsley and extra-virgin olive oil. Ohhh my! Aren’t they beautiful?

To be quite honest with you, I sort of created this recipe by accident! It was a few months ago that I wanted to make a little roasted mushroom side dish to accompany some steaks that we were going to grill. I remember it was a super busy week for us, probably like most weeks, but this was one that I just couldn’t seem to find time to get to the grocery store. Thankfully, my sweetheart husband, Andrew, was more than willing to go to the store one night after work. So I emailed him my detailed list and then waited.

I’m always thankful when Andrew offers to go to the store for me, but at the same time, it can makes things just a bit more interesting. I mean, each loving trip usually results in us ending up with some new kind of snack or a different dessert to try. Then however, there are the times when they don’t have something that I wrote on my list, and that’s when the substitutions can possibly be left up to the shopper. Making the chef, me, have to be just a bit more flexible. I guess it’s that or lose the option of having a husband who is excited to grocery shop. So of course you know what I’m choosing!

Ok, so after Andrew got home from the store that evening, he was bringing in the bags of groceries and I was unpacking them. It looked like he had gotten everything on my list (with only a few impulse additions), until I pulled out BABY PORTOBELLO mushrooms! “These are NOT what I wanted!” I remember grouching to him. “I wanted REGULAR mushrooms!” I guess it must have been a long day or something, because in retrospect there probably wasn’t any reason to get so upset about mushrooms. He explained to me that the white mushrooms didn’t look as nice as these and that he really wanted to try them. I gave him a big hug and apologized for getting in a tizzy over something so silly as mushrooms. Then I brainstormed and did a little planning to create a recipe for this new development to our meal.

The next night when I made a special steak dinner for Andrew and I, guess which side dish was the biggest hit? Yep, these oven roasted portobello mushrooms have basically become one of our new favorite things of all time! So, I guess the moral of the story is that when you send your husband to the grocery store, you might never know what surprises are in store for you. But, with an open mind, you might just create something truly amazing. A great rule in the kitchen and in life 🙂

Note: Since this dish has quickly become such a hit in our house, I was more than excited to share it with my whole family on Christmas. So naturally when I offered to make it for such a large group, I made about five times what this recipe makes. However, with everything I love about this recipe, it wouldn’t be my first choice to make again for a large family gathering. The problem is that if you overcrowd the pan (or pans in my case on Christmas), the mushrooms don’t have enough room to really roast, and therefore get too watery. They still tasted great, and I did receive numerous complements on them, but they just weren’t as good as they normally are. So, while many recipes are ideal for making for large groups, my advice is that this is not one of those.

Wipe mushrooms clean with a damp cloth. Snap off or trim stems. Cut mushrooms into quarters and place in a large baking pan. (Make sure to not overcrowd the pan or they will not cook properly and will be watery.)

Drizzle the oil over the mushrooms. Then add the garlic, parsley, and salt and pepper (to taste), and toss with a large spoon or hands to combine.

Bake at 450 degrees for 12-14 minutes, stirring halfway though cook time. Bake until tender but not mushy.